The Fire Within
by R0xas 666
Summary: A one-shot describing my OC's entrance into the RWBY world. Pretty much a prelude to my upcoming story.


**All right, ladies and gentlemen. I have returned to the role of writer. The exact reasons for my absence are my own, however, I can assure you that they will never again affect my writing.**

**I have nothing of note to mention at this time, so, on with the tale.**

* * *

It all began with fire.

* * *

Fire is the embodiment of energy. Fire is a living thing. It brings power, weakness, light, darkness, death, and new life.

I died in fire and was reborn in it.

* * *

The last thing I can remember is seeing a giant bird of living fire perched on an altar at the peak of a mountain. It spoke to me, but for the life of me, I can't remember what it said. It seemed important, though. After the bird spoke, the mountain erupted and spewed lava everywhere, and I blacked out.

* * *

I woke up inside of a shell made out of molten rock. The stone around me must have been hotter than the engines of the Schnee Rail-Runner, but it didn't hurt me at all. The only conclusion I have come up with is that the fire-bird blessed me for some reason.

* * *

I found my power that night. Leaving that accursed volcano as quickly as possible, I ran into the forest that circled the mountain, hoping to find some place to hide and something to eat. Droves of men had come to investigate the eruption, and they camped in that same forest. I watched a group of men as they settled down for the night around a fire.

I could _feel_ the fire, not the heat, but the fire itself. It was like a living thing, rising and falling as it breathed and crackling as it consumed its wooden meal. I reached out to it, wanting to touch it and feel its warmth. Suddenly, the fire leapt away from the logs it was consuming and flew towards me. I should have been afraid, but the fire was a welcoming sight compared to the cold darkness of the forest.

The fire wreathed itself around me, warming me and licking my flesh like a pet. A voice called out from the camp, "Hey, what happened to the fire?" and that is when all hell broke loose. A blood-curdling howl went up from around the camp, and was echoed from all over the forest.

As dark as it was, I could still see the pack of beowolves as they leapt into the camp and slaughtered the people there. Screams from every direction said that the other camps were being attacked as well.

* * *

I ran.

I didn't know where I was going, but I prayed that it was away from the beowolves and to a safe place. Not long after I started running, the screaming stopped and I knew that the beowolves would start chasing after me soon. Grim Creatures like them hate humans and take every opportunity to kill them.

I ran and ran, but the forest seemed endless. I vaguely saw the flame from the campfire hovering over my head as I ran, but I payed it no mind, it seemed far less important than the rushing sounds of pursuit. I finally came across a great tree, but I found that there were already some beowolves around it. They snarled and growled as they saw me, and I stopped dead in my tracks, looking around restlessly for some way out.

The fire above my head seemed to grow as my heart continued to pound in my chest. I heard the pack of beowolves from before arrive and they surrounded me.

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Let me tell you a little bit about these things before I continue. Beowolves are like those fairy tales of werewolves, only scarier. They stand an average of seven feet at the shoulder on their hind legs, have 3-inch claws that are always razor sharp, their fangs can get to about 6 inches for the canines, and they can consume their entire body weight in a single meal. Usually, beowolves won't continue to chase a single person or creature for long, but if they do, then it is a sure bet that the unlucky bastard is going to be eaten alive by the alpha male as a show of strength and dominance.

* * *

Anyhow, on with the tale. The pack closed the circle they had made, leaving no gaps, and a low growl came from the large tree. A shadow fell from the branches and landed in front of me. It rose onto its hind legs and revealed itself to be what could very well be the largest beowolf ever. This thing had to be at least 11 feet tall, and the claws looked to be 6 inches or more. It had more scars across its body than I could count, and it slowly, ever so slowly, started to advance towards me.

The closer it came, the more frantic I became. I had no weapons, and there was not even a reasonably sized stick around for me to defend myself with. The fire above my head continued to grow, and it hit me. If I could call the fire to me, could I not direct the fire to attack the beowolf alpha?

As if thinking it made it a reality, the flame darted forward and engulfed alpha beowolf from ears to tail. A pain-stricken howl erupted from the burning beowolf that lasted for all of 5 seconds before the deeply charred body of the beowolf alpha fell to the ground and my flame returned to its perch above my head.

I remember thinking that the flame was like a living thing, and how odd it was that it could read my thoughts as the pack of beowolves descended upon their fallen leader. Before I could even begin to flee, however, the entire pack turned on me. As they descended, I covered my face with my arms and knelt down, awaiting the inevitable.

Instead of teeth and claws sinking into my flesh, I heard and felt an earth-shaking explosion that pushed me onto the ground. The light above me was blinding and the ground around me was scorched, but I seemed untouched. When the light faded and I could stand up, there was not a single beowolf in sight and the great tree had been reduced to cinders.

I later realized that the flame that continued to follow me had created the explosion in order to protect me. It detonated itself in an attempt to save me from the beowolves.

* * *

Okay, now where was I? Ah, I was telling you who I am. That is actually a rather easy question to answer: I have no idea. The only thing I can remember besides the giant fire-bird is the word "Malachite" and the fact that it was important somehow.

* * *

Once I found some suitable clothing from the packs of the now-dead campers, consisting of a pair of blue jeans; a white t-shirt with a blue short-sleeve button-up over it; and a pair of camouflage boots, I made my way east.

I came upon a city, a large one at that. My first action was to find a run-down pub and try to find out who or what this "Malachite" was. Maybe by finding "Malachite", I could find out who I really was. My search proved fruitless, as the only pub in town was a place commonly referred to as "Junior's Place." Although there was some hope along with my discovery, one man claimed that this "Junior" person knew damn near everything there was to know.

So, I got directions from a number of pedestrians and found myself outside a building that looked more like an apartment complex than a pub. I opened the door and walked inside, seeing two large men on either side of a large, frosted glass wall. The man on the right nodded at me as the one on the left pressed a button on the wall beside him. A red line crossed my body from head to toe and back again before the man on the left waved me through.

I walked into a room that was obviously once a dance club. There was no debris to speak of, but the place looked like a herd of Grim Rhinos had charged through it at one time. Making a bee-line for the bar, I spotted two raven-haired girls sitting at a candle-lit table with a man in a business suit minus the coat. The man in the suit looked like he had lost a fight with a heavyweight boxer, with his nose covered in a bandage.

I reached the bar and asked the bartender, "Where is Junior? He and I have some business to discuss."

The barkeep pointed at the man in the suit who was injured. "Be careful, though, last person who came here on "business" wasn't exactly welcome."

Recognizing a threat when I heard it and noticing the numerous armed guards, I nodded and replied, "I see. I just need some simple information. I have lost something precious, and I hope he can help me find it again."

I made my way to the table and waited for Junior to finish his conversation with the two girls. A few seconds after I arrived, Junior waved the girls away and gestured for me to sit down in front of him. I cast a quick glance at the girls as they walked away; the taller one was in a white sleeveless dress with white thigh-high boots that had blades attached to the heels, and the other was in a red and black sleeveless dress with red thigh-high boots, except this one had long red claw-like weapons attached to her wrists.

I sat down as Junior asked, "How can I help you?"

I sat back in my chair, "People say you know everything."

I saw him flinch and narrow his eyes, "Who told you that?" he demanded.

"Pretty much everyone in town. I was hoping you could help me find something." I replied. "You see, I was near the volcano that erupted a few days ago, and I seemed to have lost my memory when I hit my head during the eruption. I have no idea who I was before the eruption, and I was hoping that either you could tell me or point me to someone who could."

Junior scoffed, "Well, never heard that one before. Honestly, I've never seen you. I take it, however, that since you lost your memory, that you don't have a name?" he asked.

I shook my head, "The only thing I can remember before the eruption is 'Malachite.'"

Junior's eyes widened a little, "Malachite, as in a name?" he asked.

I shrugged, "I guess so. It seems more important than just a type of rock, so it stands to reason that it would be a name of some sorts."

Junior's eyes flashed to a spot above my shoulder for a long moment before he stood, "Come on, sounds like you could use a drink." We walked to the bar, and I ordered a Blind Russian whereas Junior poured himself a glass of dark liquid from an unmarked bottle.

I got about halfway through my drink when we were joined by the two girls from earlier. Junior downed the last of his glass and then spoke, gesturing to the two girls. "Allow me, this is Melanie and her twin sister, Miltiades." They both looked at me and nodded in harmony, "Girls, this is your new partner." Three shocked expressions turned to face Junior.

"What do you mean new partner?" Melanie demanded angrily.

"Yeah," Miltiades added "We don't need anybody else, let alone somebody we have never even met."

I remember the three of them arguing over the fact, but I was not paying attention. I felt a presence inside my mind give off a sort of alarm, and I instinctively looked up. Somebody or something crashed through the ceiling right above Junior's head. The presence in my head took over my body at that point, and what happened next I only saw like it was a movie.

I lifted my hand and reached for the candles with my mind. The fire from the candles leapt into my outstretched hand. I flung my hand upwards, and the flames grew in size and intensity as they flew towards the body still falling from the skies. The flames hit the body and flung it back up the hole it created and up into the sky. I tightly clenched my fists and the flames exploded violently outwards, leaving no trace of the intruder.

While the entire ordeal took no more than a second, I saw it as if in slow-motion. Just as soon as it came, the presence left my mind, vanishing as if it never was. I jolted back into my body to meet the stunned faces of Junior, Melanie, and Miltiades. I quickly assumed control of the situation, "Not that I am not flattered, but do you really think it is wise to hire a man you just met and assign him to be with two beautiful girls?"

Junior smirked, "I'd worry less about them and more about yourself with that kind of attitude, buddy. In the three years I have known these two, they have only been defeated once." His face became stoic once more, "Now, on to business. Melanie and Miltiades need a new partner for the excursions I send them on from time to time. Other than traveling and battling alongside them, you will act as an in-club bouncer while I am here. You will be given a room in a nearby hotel that I own, just as all my employees; I will pay 20 Lien and hour, and 10,000 Lien upon completion of an outside job; and the bar is forever at your disposal, should you accept my offer of employment."

Junior stuck his hand out as I contemplated his offer. It was beyond generous, though I gathered that there was a bit of hazard pay involved with the outside jobs. It was true that I had no other place to go, and the money I had gathered from the camped people was just about gone. Perhaps Junior could also help me with discovering who I was before the eruption.

I reached out and took Junior's hand, shaking it firmly. "I accept your offer."

Junior smiled, "Good, welcome aboard..." he paused.

I searched my mind for a suitable name, and just like before, my body was briefly taken over by a presence inside my mind. "Wizel." I stated.

Junior nodded, "Welcome to the club, Wizel."

* * *

**Well, that is that. This is how my OC took his first steps into the RWBY universe. I will try to keep it canon (up to a certain pre-determined point), as I watch the episodes as soon as they become publicly available. I will alert you all when I will deviate from the canon universe, so don't worry.**

**So, I have been playing a lot of WKC lately, and that inspired the names of my two OC's. For the record, the only blessing given by the Pheonix to my OC is his immunity to heat. Any questions? Feel free to ask in the review section.**

**No, I will not be accepting ideas on how to improve the storyline, I will also not be accepting any other OC's (save for one more of my own that is already created and whose purpose will be made clear in time), and I will not be having any kind of romance in this story at all (unless it is canon).**


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